Mary Shelley's Response To The Enlightenment

During the late 18th century arose the movement of Romanticism. Ideas emphasized during this period was poetry, art, imagination, and emotions over reasoning. This proceeded the Enlightenment era which began earlier in that century. The focuses of these two eras were different but I believe both were important to the development of the world and not just to Western societies. Since the Romantics followed Enlightenment, philosophers critiqued areas and concepts from the previous age to prove that their present conclusions were ultimately true or at least credible. The whole point of the Enlightenment period was the promotion of human progress by reasoning and science rather than religion or tradition. Important influencers of this age were
The scientist of the story was so obsessed with science and creation that he sought out to make his own creature. This creature would not be considered human because part of his body was from animals. The creature embodied what it meant to be a Romanticist be it always felt, and it always reacted from its feeling. The scientist himself exemplified the character of someone who was eager to be enlightened. When he finally created this creature he wasn’t satisfied with his results. Before the steps he went through to create this monster he was solitary during his work. Frankenstein himself was alone and away from his family, wife, and his friends. This collides with the assumption that individualism creates progression because while you are gaining knowledge solitary, you are cut off from your relationship with others and all actions performed by the individual isn’t always advantageous to them. After the creation Frankenstein himself left the creature where he created it and ran away. The creature is later referred to as a monster whenever he kills Frankenstein brother. When the monster finally meets with his creator again it says, “ Accused creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust (Shelly 126).” Even after the process he went through to make this very thing, he was left by himself in the end
In his book, “Communist Manifesto,” Marx stresses the importance of communism or the publication of private property. As stated above, John Locke was the influencer of human basic rights, which included the right to own private property. The development of the Capitalist soon came after this right was made. Capitalists were key contributors to the rise of the industrial revolution but also to the fall of small shop owners. These shop owners were without income and the only way to provide a source was by working for these wealthy owners. A clear distinction between these two types people was their level of income and property which brought on the social classes. There was an oppressor and the oppressed. Before I go further with any explanations, this picture here of classes shows that only one class is progressing. The oppressor is the class that prospers in context of human progression through technological advancements. “Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes directly facing each other- bourgeoisie and proletariat (Marx 9).” The bourgeoisie were the capitalist while the proletariat was the lower working class. Separation between the two came along with the industrial revolution. Romanticist like Marx would oppose this as human progression because as a whole we aren’t all included in this promotion. It seems as the Capitalists are being set up on a pedestal